Appointees will face controversial issue of hydrofracking

By Brian Nearing

Published 9:37 pm, Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced an in-house promotion Tuesday as his chief environmental adviser, a spot that had been vacant since this spring.

Basil Seggos, who was assistant to former Deputy Secretary for the Environment Robert Hallman, is taking over that job, according to the governor's office. Hallman left in March. Seggos' position is being taken by Anne Tarpinian, who worked for Republicans in the state Senate.

Cuomo said the duo will be "a critical part of our efforts to build a more environmentally friendly, sustainable New York." One of the single largest issues Seggos will confront will be the state's continuing review of whether to allow natural gas hydraulic fracturing, a politically controversial issue that has divided the public.

In a prepared statement issued by the governor's press office, Seggos said, "Gov. Cuomo is committed to protecting our environment, maximizing opportunities for sportsmen and women, and making our communities more resilient to severe weather and climate change. He also understands that a healthy environment depends on a healthy economy."

Seggos had been assistant secretary for the environment since February 2012. Previously, he was an executive with Hugo Neu Corp., a private equity company focused on building and managing clean-tech businesses, and an investigator with the environmental group Hudson Riverkeeper. He also worked on urban environmental issues at the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York.

Tarpinian has spent 15 years as a staffer in the state Legislature, where she worked on environmental conservation, energy, telecommunications and agriculture. State correspondence from July 2013 indicated that Tarpinian had the title of assistant to the environmental deputy secretary, but Richard Azzopardi said she had been named to that post in an "acting capacity" this summer because Seggos was out of the country on a military deployment.

Seggos will be paid $150,000 annually, the same as what Hallman had been receiving, and Tarpinian will be paid $110,000. The pair will work closely with Cuomo's environmental team, including Richard L. Kauffman, chairman of energy and finance; Chief of Staff Kate Burson, and Thomas Congdon, assistant secretary for energy.